


Won't You Be Mine?

by skuxie



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, Anti Gay Slurs (Due to bullying), Bullying, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I dunno where this is gonna go but there's gonna be Byler lol, M/M, Possible Lumax, Steve and Dustin being buds, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-23 08:49:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16615769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skuxie/pseuds/skuxie
Summary: It's been months since Will Byers has been through his possession at the hands of the Mindflayer, but his fears won't ever leave his mind. And this Valentine's Day he has a different kind of fear tugging at his mind-- Having a crush on his best friend.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just now getting back into fan fic writing so this might be a bit rough, but here's a short introduction chapter! I hope I can turn out something you guys will enjoy!

The nightmares never go away. Thanksgiving. Christmas. New Years. Four months had come and gone. The Mindflayer had come and gone. But the fears, the anxiety, the lingering sense of dread was always present; always tearing away at Will Byers’ mind. He spent hours every day thinking about the horrors he had endured throughout the past couple years, fearing that they would find a way back to him again.  
Sitting at his cluttered desk, Will stared out his window absentmindedly. A glimmering frost decorated the glass and left the outside looking unfocused. It was another brisk February in Hawkins. Will sighed. Both Jonathan and Joyce had been scheduled for the early shift, and he would be forced to bike to school in the cold. After the events last Halloween Will despised the cold. Being trapped in his own mind and hearing his voice demand to stay in the cold had left a lasting impact on the way cooler temperatures made him feel. But much to his dismay, there was no other option than to brave the cool weather.  
He stood up from his desk, gathering the small pile of papers and pencils and jamming them into the worn backpack that was leaning against his chair. Will pulled on a pair of wool gloves, a crocheted beanie, and a thick coat, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, ready to leave. But he hesitated, gaze lowering to the small drawer in the middle of his desk.

His heart skipped a beat.

He had to do it today. It was now or never.

Will quickly yanked the drawer open. A single, drawing-covered note laid in the drawer, staring up at the boy who furrowed his brow at it. His heart skipped another beat. With the utmost care, Will removed the note from its resting place and tucked it into his right coat pocket. He swallowed hard, feeling like a lump of coal was making its way down his throat, then inhaled and exhaled three times, finally leaving the warmth of his room to head out to school.


	2. Chapter 2

Hawkins Middle School was only a short bike ride away and normally the ride was fun in the company of his friends, but Will had left earlier than the group normally did. Anxiety had convinced him that didn’t want to face one member in particular this early in the day, and he had crumbled under the pressure of those thoughts, deciding it was best to take the trip alone. Will parked his bike in one of the bike racks and looked out at the crowd of students filing into the school’s entrance. Every student held modified shoe boxes in their arms; decorated with bright pinks, reds, whites, purples, and hearts of all shapes and sizes. Will sniffed, a small frown forming on his unbearably cold face. He had forgotten to make a Valentine’s box. Will kicked a small pile of dirty snow by his foot, disappointment filling his heart. Making a Valentine’s box was usually his favorite thing to do on Valentine’s Day; he often covered the box with detailed illustrations, but this year his mind had been….distracted.  
“Hey Will!” A voice shouted, startling Will out of his distracted thoughts of, well, being distracted too often. A pair of bikes squealed to a stop in front of the brown haired boy, followed by a flash of orange. Will’s eyes darted between Dustin, Lucas, and Max who were smiling at him.  
“H-hey!” Will sputtered, instinctively placing a hand over his right pocket.

“You look like you just saw a ghost.” Max joked, continuing to skate around Will.

“Yeah, the ghost of Valentine’s Day past.” Dustin chuckled, parking his bike along with Lucas.  
Will whipped his head around and around, following Max’s ellipse around him with his eyes. “No! No… I was just distracted... I guess.”

Dustin and Lucas shrugged at each other. They were well aware that their youngest friend was also the most easily distracted of the group, with Mike as a close second. “Distracted thinking about your vaaAaAAlentine?” Lucas teased, his eyes briefly flicking toward Max, then back at Will with a grin and a playful shoulder bump.  
Will’s face heated immediately; How did they know?! “I—I’m!— I mean… No! I don’t have a Valentine! I didn’t even…. I didn’t even make a Valentine box this year. I was… I was too busy with homework.” He lied, begging for a change of subject.  
Lucas and Dustin exchanged glances while Max expanded her skating path to circle around them both. “That’s okay, Byers.” She piped up, “Valentine’s Day is dumb anyways, you don’t need a Valentine.”  
Will exhaled quickly and gave a weak laugh. “Thanks, Max. I’m glad you have my back.”

The redhead gave a thumbs up. “Sure. I mean, I don’t have a Valentine either! So!” 

Lucas blinked in surprise, “Wait, what?”

A small snort came from the blur named Max as she took off skating towards the school’s front door, Lucas chasing behind her, “What do you mean! Max! Wait!” 

Will breathed a sigh of relief and laughed at the pair that quickly disappeared into the crowd of students. He was happy to have gotten through that encounter relatively unscathed, and turned his attention to Dustin who was staring at the spot that the couple had disappeared from sight. Will blinked up at his face. 

“Valentine’s Day is pretty shit, huh? I’m just here for the candy.” Dustin joked half heartedly, then sighed. Will looked down at his feet. It was hard to see Dustin this way. He was such an upbeat person with a big heart, but none of the girls seemed to realize that. You could only tell someone ‘The right person will come along someday!’ so many times before it started to sound like a sick joke. 

After a short, awkward silence, Will shrugged and talked softly to Dustin. “Yeah, I guess…I’m sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it. I have plans with a friend anyways.”

“Oh?” Will was taken aback, usually the group made plans together, so Dustin must have make plans with someone els-- “Oh!” Will grinned up at Dustin. “Steve Harrington?”

Dustin snickered. “Yeahhh. Steve told me he’s going to teach me how to get a Valentine. I don’t know how well that will go though because he doesn’t have a Valentine either but I’m humoring him.”’

“Well….That should be fun, right?”

“Yeah. I think so.” Dustin nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Steve’s like an idiot older brother. He’s cool.”

“Good! That’s good!” Will chirped, happy that Dustin had some Valentine plans of his own, even if they were with his older brother’s former enemy. But his mind quickly shifted to an important question that had been at the back of his mind since the others had shown up. Glancing around to make sure that he just hadn’t spotted their freckled friend, Will furrowed his brows, “Hey, where’s Mike? Why wasn’t he with you guys?”

Dustin raised an eyebrow quizzically at Will, causing his heart to skip. “Wheeler? He said he wanted to drop off a Valentine for Eleven.” The curly haired boy grinned, elbowing Will lightly. “They’re probably smooching each other right now, amiright?”

Will’s heart sunk. Probably. He plastered a fake smile on his face, pretending to laugh at Dustin’s comment. “Yeah. Probably! Haha!” The card in his pocket felt like it was made of lead, weighing him down. He tried to keep calm, but his voice wavered ever so slightly as he spoke, “Hey… I’ll catch up with you later, alright? I have to...uh...check the chain on my bike. It was feeling a little loose on the way here, so I have to make sure…. it’s on secure. B-But I’ll see you in class, okay?”

“Uh. Alright, if you say so. See you in class.” Dustin gave one last confused look, but headed off towards class, leaving Will alone.

Will watched him go, his eyes feeling glossy. It was so stupid! All of it was so stupid! Why was he getting so worked up about it?! A warm, stray tear tumbled down his cheek before it was quickly wiped away by one of the wool gloves. He sniffled, unsure if it was the chilly weather or his tears that were making his nose run. All of a sudden, a heavy push came from behind Will’s right side, nearly causing him to fall over. He stumbled forward a few steps, slipping a bit on the slick, wet pavement before regaining his balance. Eyes wide, he whipped around, only to come face-to-face with Troy. 

The bully’s face scrunched up into a cruel expression. “Hey, if it isn’t Fairy Byers! I see you’re all bundled up for the grave!” His face contorted into an even nastier expression, “Didn’t you know fairies aren’t allowed to celebrate Valentine’s Day?”

Will backed up. “T-Troy… Leave me alo--”

Troy matched Will’s step away with a step forward, lunging into another push, this time causing Will to fall backwards. Will winced, all the wind being knocked from his lungs. “Sure, I’ll leave you alone. And so will everyone else. I mean, who would want to spend their Valentine’s Day with you?” To add insult to injury, the boy kicked some dirty snow into Will’s face before walking off laughing. Will sat in stunned, embarrassed silence. Dozens and dozens of his peers walked past his defeated form, doing nothing to help him. Some of them even giving him judgemental glances and hushed whispers to their friends as they walked by. Three more tears found their way down Will’s face. This time he let them fall. Troy was right. He was a freak; an outcast. No matter what he did, he was always doing something wrong…. Something weird. 

The school bell rang, shaking Will out of his stupor. Shakily, he rose to his feet-- he was going to feel that in the morning. Weighed down by hundreds of pounds of shame, Will stared at his feet, shuffling to class. He felt countless eyes on him, burning holes through him.

It was times like these that he wished he were invisible.


End file.
